Carolyn Howard-Johnson vists!



Carolyn Howard-Johnson
(3rd person from the left)
accepting an award.

          Today, I'm featuring a skilled promotion, editing, and writing guru who makes my skills look like baby-talk. So, let's see a little bit more about what Carolyn does from her mouth. Yep, I'll stop gibbering now.

         As a college freshman, Carolyn Howard-Johnson was the youngest person ever hired as a staff writer for the Salt Lake Tribune--"A Great Pulitzer Prize Winning Newspaper"--where she wrote features for the society page and a column under the name of Debra Paige.
         Later, in New York, she was an editorial assistant at Good Housekeeping Magazine. She also handled accounts for fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert who instituted the first Ten Best Dressed List, where she wrote releases for celebrity designers of the time including Pauline Trigere, Rudy Gernreich and Christian Dior. She was also a consultant for the Oak Park Press in the Chicago area.
         Her nonfiction and humor have been seen in national magazines and her fiction and poetry appear regularly in anthologies and review journals. She has been a columnist for The Pasadena Star News and is now a columnist for Home Décor Buyer, a trade magazine, and Myshelf.com and others. She writes movie and theatre reviews for The Glendale News-Press.
         She studied at the University of Utah, graduated from USC and has done postgraduate work in writing at UCLA. She also studied writing at Cambridge University, United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University in Prague.
          The author’s first novel, This Is The Place, and her book of creative nonfiction are award-winners. She also wrote a screenplay, The Killing Ground. Her book The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't was named USA Book News' Best Professional Book of 2004 and won Book Publicists of southern California's Irwin award.

          The second book in the HowToDoItFrugally series is The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success which also won a USA Book News Best Book nod. It is also the winner of Reader Views Literary Award and a finalist in the New Generation Indie Best Book Awards. Her marketing campaign for that book took top honors for marketing.

         Howard-Johnson’s stories have appeared in anthologies like: Pass/Fail, edited by Rose A. O. Kleidon, PhD; Calliope’s Mousepad in review journals like California State University at Stanislaus's Penumbra and the Mochila Review.

        She was honored as Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award by California Legislature members, Carol Liu, Dario Frommer and Jack Scott. She is the recipient of her community's Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance. She was honored by her city's Character and Ethics committee for promoting tolerance with her writing and was named to Pasadena Weekly's list of 14 women of "San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen".

          Born and raised in Utah, Howard-Johnson raised her own family in sunny Southern California.

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         Now, here are some links to get to know more about this wonderful person. And if you're a NaNoWriMo participant this year, you might want to grab a copy of her Frugal Editor, so when Nation Novel Editing Month (December) comes around, you'll be ready to edit each and every one of those 50,000 words!

BLOGS FOCUSED ON WRITING AND RELATED TOPICS

http://www.SharingWithWriters.blogspot.com


          Sharing with Writers is a blog on all things publishing with an emphasis on book promotion. It was named to Writer's Digest 101 Best Website list.

http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/

          The New Book Review is a great way for readers, authors, reviewers and publicists to get more mileage out of a great review. Guidelines for submitting (and recycling) good reviews are in the left column. Scroll down a bit. It's free.


http://www.SizzlingBookFairBooths.blogspot.com

          The Sizzling Book Fair Booths is a blog where participants in in my HowToDoItFrugally cooperative fair booths exchange ideas that make a ho-hum booth into a sizzling success. We keep it open so all authors can learn from our successes and mmmm...challenges.



http://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com/

          This is the Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog. It covers everything that has anything to do with editing from grammar to formatting. The question and answer format encourages you to get the answers you need.

OFF THE SUBJECT OF WRITING--MOSTLY

www.warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com

          My creative writing is mostly inspired by the need for tolerance--nay, acceptance--on this planet. War Peace Tolerance also includes resources so that people can--no matter what they think of our wars--support our troops.

Also check out Carolyn's Website where you can see what other kinds of books she has written. She's also on Twitter!

Follow the blog tour - Marvin Wilson is hosting Margaret Fieland!

How to Write a Good Query Letter

Query letters are important if you're going to even think about sending your work anywhere, be it novel or other. Writing a query letter is actually quite easy, you may be surprised.

I've been around the web and have seen many different ways and different guides to writing a query letter. So anyways, here's the basic layout along with all of the information you'll need to include.

Name (not pen name)
Address

Email Address
Phone number

Title of work (in parenthesis state genre/s)

In the first paragraph give a brief summary of what the book is about. Be clever, because this is the first sample and idea of your book that agent or publisher will be reading. This would make it the hardest part of the query letter that you are writing.

In this next paragraph you are going to include the following information: Target audience (Young Adult, Middle Grade, Adult, etc.), note if the book will be made into a series, and if so list a brief synopsis (2 - 3 sentences at most) of entire series, list the legnth of the book (how many words is it?).

Note if you'll be needed an illustrator or not.

In the next paragraph include a bit about your background in writing, list anything that qualifies you to be writing, any experience, etc. You may not have much to put here, so just do the best with what you have.

Next, note what your marketing and promotion plan is. If you don't have a marketing plan yet, then you shouldn't be writing a query letter so soon in the game anyways. We'll be going more into marketing plans later.

Now this is your brief closing sentence, I usually put something here like "thank you for your time and consideration" be creaive, and be "professionally sweet".

Then you'll put Sincerely,

Your Name


TA-DA! You've just written an awesome query letter! It all should be able to fit on your basic 8 x 10 piece of paper, keep that in mind.

Alright, so after you write your query letter, make you you edit and re-edit it, that is very important. If it has errors in it, it may just be rejected just like that, because errors are a sign of laziness. It's just one page, so make sure you edit it very well. Also, be sure to read the submission guidelines, you may have to add or remove sections depending on the publisher/agent, but usually this query letter works for everything.

After you've finished it's always comforting to get a second opinion, so feel free to send it to me, and I'll be happy to critique it and let you know what I think about it.

Meet Gayle Trent!

Today, Gayle Trent joins me on my blog; she is the accomplished author of the Daphne Martin Cake Decorating Mystery Series. Here’s a little bit more about her -

Gayle Trent is a full-time author. She is currently at work on a new cozy mystery series involving her hobby, cake decorating. The series features Daphne Martin, a 40-year-old divorcee who has begun the second phase of her life with a new home and a new business venture—Daphne’s Delectable Cakes. Gayle lives in Bristol, Virginia with her husband, daughter and son.

Gayle previously worked in the accounting and legal fields, and her last such job was as secretary to a Deputy Commissioner in the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission. Though she enjoyed the work, it was a long daily commute and she felt she wasn’t spending enough time with her family. Now she writes while her children are at school; and thanks to a crock pot and a bread machine, can often have dinner ready when everyone gets home.

“I think it’s important to be here for my children…to take part in school functions and to be an active part of their lives,” Gayle says. “I can certainly sympathize with moms who work outside the home—been there, done that—but I would encourage everyone to make time to visit their children’s schools, to have lunch with them [at school] occasionally, to get a feel for who their friends are…little things like that.”

Gayle loves to hear from readers who can contact her via e-mail at gd830@hotmail.com or via one of her Web sites: http://www.gayletrent.com or http://gayle24202.tripod.com. If you share an interest in cake decorating, please visit Daphne’s Web site, available via click-through from either of Gayle’s sites or at http://www.gayle24202.tripod.com/id9.html.


Heather: Tell us about Dead Pan.

Gayle: Dead Pan is the second book in the Daphne Martin Cake Decorating Mystery Series. When the book opens, a police officer is questioning Daphne about a cake she took to the Brea Ridge Pharmaceutical Company Christmas party. Many people at the party got sick, but most recovered after being treated with a vaccine manufactured by the company. Only one, Fred Duncan, went into a coma and died. Coincidence? Or did somebody have it in for Fred?

Heather: What would you like to overhear people saying about your book?

Gayle: "I laughed so hard when--" A local book club selected Murder Takes the Cake as one of their books; and when I attended the meeting, I was delighted to hear that they thought this or that part was funny. I also love it when people say, "I never guessed ______ was the villain." Also, there was a review where a woman said she loved the main character's relationships with various members of her family--that they were beautifully or realistically drawn. I felt like, "Oooh, she got it!" Actually, I'll take anything that's not negative. :-)

Heather: What inspired you to write Dead Pan?

Gayle: I was reading an article in Wired magazine about clinical drug tests. I did some further investigation, and I came across some fascinating stuff.

Heather: What do you advise new writers to do?

Gayle: Read the genre they're interested in writing. For instance, when my agent pitched my first three chapters of the embroidery mystery to the editor, the editor said she liked it but didn't love it. I needed to revise it to make her love it in order for her to buy the book. I asked my agent who the editor had published recently. With two names in hand, I went to the bookstore and bought two books. I read them and found they were more descriptive than my own books. I went back, added more description and gave the heroine a bit more spunk, and the book sold. Sometimes you have to be flexible.

Heather: Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you

Gayle: 1) There is a feral cat who comes to visit us on holidays. We’re pretty sure he belongs to somebody because he’s always well fed. We think we’re his “other family.” We first realized his penchant for visiting on holidays when he came and cried at our door on Mother’s Day. He came back for Memorial Day and Father’s Day, and so on. Sometimes he’ll drop by for a visit, and we have to check the calendar to see what holiday it is.

2) I have an adorable cartoon Debbie Ridpath Ohi did of me with a cake (for “Murder Takes the Cake”) when her blog InkyGirl hosted me on my blog tour. The cartoon is framed and hanging above my desk. I figure I’ll never look that good in a picture again!

3)I once got to interview the famous criminalist Dr. Henry Lee via telephone for an article which appeared in Law and Order Magazine.

Heather: Favorite quote

Gayle: “It’s not enough to stare up the steps. You must step up the stairs.” – Vance Havner

Heather: Do you have any funny writing stories to share?

Gayle: I once tried to "write" using my laptop's voice recognition feature while baking brownies and peeling potatoes. Great multi-tasking, right? BUT, there is a drawback to using voice technology gadgets when you have a Southern drawl. Although, the exercise helped me get unblocked and continue on through the chapter I was struggling with, the computer misunderstood most of what I said. AND, to add insult to injury, when I read back over what it said and laughed, the computer translated that as “a a a a a a a a.”

Heather: What exactly is a cozy mystery?

Gayle: Cozy mysteries usually take place in a small community and involve a relatively small number of people. The reader knows that someone within the intimate group will turn out to be the killer. Think Desperate Housewives with one of the cast turning out to be the killer as opposed to Criminal Minds or CSI. Cozy mysteries also feature an amateur sleuth as opposed to a professional detective, and the heroine has an interesting profession or hobby.

Thank you for joining us Gayle! I hope all of you readers learned a special thing or two about Gayle!

Meet E.D.Bowman!

Meet E.D.Bowman, she is the author of two book series, and three stand alone novels (Read below to find out more about those). I got to interview E.D.Bowman, and here's the results -



Start off, tell us a little bit about your background:

Heather: How Long Have You Been Writing?

E.D.: I have been writing for over thirty years. I started writing endings to movies I went to. If I didn't like the way it ended and decided I'd rather it ended differently than the way it was written, I'd rewrite the ending when I got home. I especially didn't like sad endings or ones that gave me nightmares.

Heather: what started you writing for publication?

E.D.: I suppose I have been from the beginning without really thinking about it, but the more I submerged myself into my writing, the more my co-workers thought I should write for publication. There came a moment in time when I agreed with them.

Heather: Do you have a set time when you write, or just whenever you get the urge?

E.D.: I generally wrote after dinner, when the dishes were done, the kids were in bed, and my husband was busy reading or studying. And I would write until the wee hours of the morning, and at work during lunch or whenever I found a few moments to put my thoughts down on paper. Now, since I am no longer working I write every day, at any and all times.

Heather: Who is your favorite author?

E.D.: I have several favorite authors, I can't begin to name them all, but to mention a few there are: Thomas B. Costain, Nelson DeMille, Catherine Coulter, Trisha Fitzgerald-Petri, Nikki Leigh and many others.

Heather: Have you ever had writer's block, and if so how do you get rid of it?

E.D.: So far, I can honestly answer no to that question. But I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Heather: What do you recommend to aspiring authors?

E.D.: Never give up. Believe in yourself. Don't take rejection to heart. Not everyone likes the same stories. Persistence and talent will win out…eventually.

Heather: How do you invent your characters?

E.D.: My characters are a composite of a lot of people I've known and met. And even strangers I might see in a train, on the beach or in a shopping mall.

Heather: I know a few authors who keep records (almost like police records) of height, weight, background, etc. of their characters, do you keep tabs on your cahracters, and if so, what do you usually make note of?

E.D.: Yes, as a matter of fact I have a character chart that I fill in before I create a character depending on the story I am writing. I also note what I think my characters would like, dislike, or how they would act, and it seems that as I continue to write, the characters take on a life of their own.

Heather: Some authors say that they feel as though his or her characters are real, do you feel this way, and what do you think about this?

E.D.: Actually, I would have to agree with that. As I have said, characters take on a life of their own, and in time, write the story themselves. They become as real as any human you can touch. Once you've written the last chapter to your book, your characters stay with you. And you may discover that you start talking about them as if they are your children…which in a way they are.

Heather: Do you have anything in the works?

E.D.: I just completed a non-fiction book for my brother that is a private biography of what he went through in World War II. Before that, it was a project my husband had been working on that I finally convinced him to publish. As of now, I have a few thoughts about a mystery novel…at least I think that's what it will be…but who knows for sure.

Heather: What would you say is the neatest thing you know?

E.D.: That I never stop learning new things.

Heather: What was your favorite part about writing your book?

E.D.: Watching the words come alive as I wrote them and the way the characters react to a given situation.

Heather: Has music ever inspired your writing?

E.D.: Not really, I like listening to music when I write as long as it is background music and not intrusive.

Heather: Do you like to write in complete silence or does it have to be noisy?

E.D.: It doesn't really matter, when I am writing, I don't hear or see anything but what is being written on the screen. I am completely involved in what I am doing, and as my husband says, nothing gets through except a knock on the head. (Just kidding).

Heather: What made you put your characters in the setting that you did?

E.D.: It would have to be the story. You can't just put characters in places they don't belong. When I'm writing about space, naturally my characters have to be astronauts or aliens and other worlds. However, in a paranormal or mystery story, if it had nothing to do with space it wouldn't be practical to put an astronaut or an alien in the story if they were not involved in it. That's not to say that an alien couldn't be in a mystery novel…now could it? Hmmm might be something in that.

Heather: Keyboard or pen?

E.D.: I started writing with a pencil because it was easier to erase when the story seemed to be going the wrong way. I took me a long time to even consider a computer. But once I did, I couldn't believe how wonderful it was. It seemed as if the story was writing itself. So I'd have to say now…keyboard.

Heather: What do you think is the hardest part about being an author?

E.D.: Getting someone to believe in you and in your work…and marketing your work once your book is published.

Heather: What do you usually do while writing?

E.D.: Concentrate on my writing and usually have a glass of water beside me.

Heather: What were the circumstances surrounding your decisions to become an author?

E.D.: I believe I mentioned why before. But there were other reasons. I loved to read, still do. As a child stricken with Rheumatic Fever, books were my only escape from my world of isolation. Then, too, when we were growing up my Father used to read to us every night from books he took from his bookshelf. The more he read, the more interested I became in the written word. So, if anyone was an influence in my becoming an author, it would have to be my Father, who loved the written word as much as I do.

Heather: Some people say that you need to live life before you write a book, do you think that it’s experience that writes a book or imagination?

E.D.: Both. Imagination plays a bigger part in writing fiction. Experience seems to work more with non-fiction books than with fiction. When writing non-fiction you have to be careful that what you right is true. On the other hand, with fiction you can let your imagination run free and conjure up all sorts of strange and wonderful places and subjects that come to mind.


I like the colors of: skies
The sky is most beautiful when it’s: setting
My favorite feature of a computer is: keyboard
I think inventors should invent a/an: cure-all
Thing I love most in the world is: husband
Things I hate most in the world is: tyrants
My favorite type of electronic device is: computer
My favorite thing that has been available before the year 1900: books
My favorite thing that has been available since the year 1960: books
The oddest thing you have ever written on (hand, wall, etc.) is a: rock

Elena's books are available on Amazon.com in both Kindle, and Print editions and on Barnes and Noble in E-book format. Included in her published novels are two series: The Sarah's Landing Series, comprising of four books: Contact, The Telepaths of Theon, The Barbarians and Genesis. The Legacy Series comprising of three novels: The House on the Bluff, The Gatekeeper's, Realm and Adams Point. Time-Rift, The Odyssey and The Imposter are all stand alone novels.

For Reviews and excerpts of Elena's books visit her website at:
http://elenadb.home.comcast.net/

Meet R.L.Sloan!

Meet R.L.Sloan the blissful author of Embellish, a delightly fantasy novel about a young girl with a gloomy past and a future full of vampires, voodoo, and passion.

I was lucky enough to catch R.L. for a moment to get a quick interview with her, and here's what came of it -

Heather: To start off, tell us a little bit about your background:

R.L.: Hello, I'm R. L. Sloan, author of the paranormal vampire romance novel Embellish. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor, Anger Resolution therapist, a wife, a mom, and Oatmeal and Raisin cookie monster.

Heather: How long have you been writing?

R.L.: I've been off and on over the years writing skits. Within the last year, I recently sat down and committed myself to finishing Embellish.

Heather: what started you writing for publication?

R.L.: As humans, we are usually motivated after there is some life altering event in our lives. That life altering event for me was the passing of my father. So I decided to find something that would keep me busy and focused. I was able to complete my novel, and I feel that it would have been something my dad would have been proud of.

Heather: Do you have a set time when you write, or just whenever you get the urge?

R.L.:Whenever the urge hits me, I will sit down and write. If that urge hits me when I'm away from my computer, I have a handy little purse-sized notebook to jot down thoughts as I go through the day.

Heather: Who is your favorite author?

R.L.: One of my favorite authors is P. C. Cast. I like the way she keeps all of her characters real. It makes you think you actually know someone like them.

Heather: Have you ever had writer's block, and if so how do you get rid of it?

R.L.: I have experienced writers block, but luckily it has never lasted over a week. When this happens, I try to give myself some kind of adventure or experience that would shake me up, like riding a roller coaster, meditating, or exercising, or watching a program in a foreign language and imagining what the characters are saying.

Heather: What do you recommend to aspiring authors?

R.L.: I would recommend to aspiring authors to live their life to the fullest and write about any and everything that they can, good or bad.

Heather: How do you invent your characters?

R.L.: I invent characters that are the opposite of what people expect for them to be. In other words, if a character is good then he or she will be good in everything they do or say. If the character is bad, he or she will be bad or evil to the extreme without remorse. For good characters, I try to give them characteristics that would make them worthy of Heaven. For bad characters I give them traits or actions that would send them straight to Hell.

Heather: I know a few authors who keep records (almost like police records) of height, weight, background, etc. of their characters, do you keep tabs on your cahracters, and if so, what do you usually make note of?

R.L.: I keep mental tabs on my characters yes. The things I usually make note of are their physical and mental health. If they are criminals they usually stick to their criminal elements of their personalities.

Heather: Some authors say that they feel as though his or her characters are real, do you feel this way, and what do you think about this?

R.L.: Indeed I do feel my characters are real. In fact, before I sit down to write I will tell my husband, "Well honey, it's time to go and visit with Solis and Nacio (Heroine and Vampire in Embellish) or with the Treemounts (villains). Once I have a "mental visit" with them, then I'm able to continue writing the story.

Heather: Do you have anything in the works?

R.L: I'm currently working on Embellish II: Justice Served. This story picks up right where readers left off. People that have read Embellish keep prompting me to hurry up and finish. They want to read the galley copy when it's ready.
A portion of Embellish was done as a stage production and it was awesome. Several actors enjoyed portraying the characters on stage.

Heather: What would you say is the neatest thing you know?

R.L.: The neatest thing I know is that when you fall down, the only way you can go is up. When you know this, it helps you stay focused and keep your eye on what's important.

Heather: What was your favorite part about writing your book?

R.L: The favorite part of writing Embellish was giving the readers twists and turns in a plot that they totally did not expect. I also enjoyed creating characters that were diverse, had accents, and each had some special aspect to bring to the text.

Heather: Has music ever inspired your writing?

R.L.: Yes indeed! Music has inspired my writing! I am a HUGE Smooth Jazz fan. I love Boney James (Jazz Saxophonist). During book signings my theme music is his song "The Total Experience". If I ever get a chance to meet him, I want him to play it for me at a book signing, so if you know him tell him I said whenever he can get to San Antonio, Texas I'll be the first in line with that request.

Heather: Do you like to write in complete silence or does it have to be noisy?

R.L.: I can write anywhere as long as no one is asking me questions, "Where are my socks? Have you seen my glasses? What are we eating? Can I go skating? What's wrong with your hair? Can you come and pick me up?" That sort of thing.

Heather: What made you put your characters in the setting that you did?

R.L.: I put my characters in San Antonio, Texas because it is truly a romantic city. Anyone can fall in love or have an intimate moment along the San Antonio Riverwalk. The city truly holds a lot of our country's history, and for those that have come here, they know exactly what I mean.

Heather: Keyboard or pen?

R.L.: I absolutely have to have a keyboard. There is no way I could write a book with my "Chicken Scrawl" and then expect for someone to decipher it. No way.

Heather: What do you think is the hardest part about being an author?

R.L.: The hardest thing about being an author is not knowing whether or not your fans will like everything you write. It's a chance you have to take as an author.

Heather: What do you usually do while writing?

R.L.: If I'm listening to music when I write and my favorite song is playing I usually break out in a dance during the chorus of the song.

Heather: What were the circumstances surrounding your decisions to become an author?

R.L.: I mentioned earlier, my father passed away, but also I really wanted to see if I could actually write a book. After I accomplished this goal, I looked back and thought "Okay, I realize not everyone can make the commitment to do this." Publishing a novel gives me a whole new respect for authors.

Heather: Some people say that you need to live life before you write a book, do you think that it’s experience that writes a book or imagination?

R.L.: I truly believe experience is the foundation for your imagination to build up on for you to write a book. I know it works like that for me.

I like the colors of: Diamonds
The sky is most beautiful when it’s: Dark
My favorite feature of a computer is: Shift
I think inventors should invent a/an: Robot
Thing I love most in the world is: Freedom
Things I hate most in the world is: Racism
My favorite type of electronic device is: MP3
My favorite thing that has been available before the year 1900: Soap
My favorite thing that has been available since the year 1960: Plumbing
The oddest thing you have ever written on (hand, wall, etc.) is: Leg

If you would like to read more about R.L.Sloan or check out Embellish you can head on over to Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/Embellish-R-L-Sloan/dp/1432740334 - R.L. is also on Facebook and Myspace!